“Officers responding to sporadic disorder in a number of boroughs made more than 100 arrests throughout last night and early this morning.” Scotland Yard statement, August 8
The violence that started in Tottenham has spread to Enfield and Brixton. The riots started on Friday August 5, after police shot and killed a man in the back seat of a taxi the day before. Police say he was a gun runner, locals say it was police brutality. Tottenham, a borough of London, has a decades long history of police brutality.
The riots are spreading and become more about the lack of jobs, and the severe cuts to social programs made by the British Parliament.
Another factor could be that British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is on a luxury vacation in Italy, while Chancellor of the Exchequer (kinda like the U.S. Treasury), George Osbourne, is on vacation in California. This after they told British taxpayers to make more financial sacrifices.
Police feel targeted, and who wouldn’t be surprised at that since London police have powers even U.S. cops don’t. The United Kingdom uses Orwellian tactics in their law enforcement. One bobby said: “Officers are shocked at the outrageous level of violence directed against them.”
An immigrant from Africa said: “I can imagine this kind of thing happening in Somalia but to see it in London was strange.”
Of course the elected and appointed officials in Britain are calling the rioters “petty criminals”, but local residents say people are finally fed up with the system: “Unemployment is very, very high … they are frustrated.” Uzodinma Wigwe, age 49, recently laid off
History shows that peaceful protest does not work. History shows that it always takes violent protest to make the leaders realize the people want change. In some cases leaders are so arrogant they end up going to their death thinking there is nothing wrong (French Revolution). The Civil Rights laws in the United States did NOT come about because of the peaceful protests led by Martin Luther King Jr, but because of the violence that took place after Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. That’s the part they don’t teach about in the United States, but the info is there, do your own research.